Conservative leaders at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference that opened today in Washington, D.C., told an audience of predominantly social conservatives to fight hard for their candidates in the upcoming Republican primaries — but to pull together and support the GOP nominee when the primaries are over.
“I’m here to give you the Dutch Uncle speech,” said Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.
“I guarantee you that the person who wins the GOP nomination, you won’t agree with them on everything. But they’re going to agree with you a lot more than you agree with Barack Obama,” Barbour said.
Recent elections show that Republican candidates lose when social conservatives are divided or sit out an election.
“We got to stay focused on the main thing,” Barbour said. “The main thing is willing the election. Remember, in politics, purity is the enemy of victory. We cannot expect our candidate to be pure. Winning is about unity.”
Barbour was not alone in warning today’s gathering of social conservatives to keep their eye on the ball.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, warned that Obama’s runaway spending and attempt to transform America into a socialist state had put America “in the bottom of the ninth” inning.
“We need to play together and play nicely,” he said. “This is no time for us to lapse into an undisciplined orchestra.”
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